Is it out of pocket for emails outside the office?
A company employee has sparked controversy after revealing that her boss reprimanded her for writing creative emails outside the office while taking vacation.
In a viral video on TikTok, which has racked up 1.9 million views, Thara Moyes, who also works as a professional chef, admitted that she had received several “conversations with” her boss over her “unprofessional” notices.
“I've been writing these emails outside of the office and they're so cute,” she said, explaining that she writes “fun little stories about adventures involving squirrels and sharks” that the recipients can read “when I'm not there.” “.
According to Moise, her boss said her out-of-office remarks were “neither funny” nor “professional” and told her to stop doing “silly things like that.”
In response, Moise said she has begun making her stories outside the office “more serious,” which does not bode well with the president.
Then, after the second reprimand, she tried to make her emails more educational, offering “health tips,” like ways to stretch while sitting at a desk or practice mindfulness while working.
Once again, her boss criticized the emails for being inappropriate for the workplace.
“How is email outside the office considered unprofessional?” Moise exclaimed, lamenting that her “character is being stifled by corporate America.”
“It's literally just a fun, weird little story and you say it's unprofessional — how can it be unprofessional?”
However, thousands of viewers were quick to tell Moise she was wrong, explaining that her boss likely wants a no-frills email when she's out of the office.
“He gave you three warnings. Just leave it as a simple OOO.” [out-of-office] Email before you are permanently OOO,” one person wrote.
“Imagine you sent an urgent email to someone and their automated response was a story instead of telling you who to call while they were away,” another user chimed in.
“How often do you craft so many stories,” one person quipped, while another advised her to start journaling or blogging.
Another warned: “This is not a job market to play in in UN member states.”
Although humorous out-of-office emails have become widespread among Gen Z workers, experts are divided on the appropriateness of Moyes' remarks.
Speaking to Business Insider, some agreed that while boring emails are made more engaging, there is a delicate balance between fun and professionalism, and employees could risk being fired if they continue to disobey a manager's requests.
But others disagreed with President Moise.
“From the addressee's perspective, getting an OOO is usually not a great experience,” Rich Mehta, founder of Rigorous Digital, told Business Insider.
“Surprising someone with what could be a trivial experience creates dissonance, which usually means you will be remembered.”
